Callas vs. Tebaldi, the Tigress and the Dove

Callas vs. Tebaldi, the Tigress and the Dove

On September 16th 1968, backstage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, opera singers Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi embraced warmly. On that day, one of the most bitter, fruitful and public artistic rivalries of the 20th century officially came to an end. This film presents the fascinating story of a rivalry that opposed the world’s greatest divas, the catalysts in the revival and popularity of opera in its golden age, the 1950s, on the world’s most prestigious stages. The film is notably shot at the Paris Opera House, La Scala in Milan, and the Met in New York, and showcases the lives of two exceptional women and unique artists, recounted by leading figures in the opera world: conductor Riccardo Muti, a friend of Tebaldi, singers Diana Damrau and Patricia Petitbon, and the General Manager of the Met, Peter Gelb, as well as Callas’ close friend, Giovanni Lomazzi, her friend and teacher, Jeanine Reiss, and experts such as Alain Duault and Fred Plotkin.